In this edition:
Scheduled executions: Tell President Biden to #CommuteTheRow
Case updates: Recent developments in the Texas death penalty cases of Randy Halprin, Melissa Lucio, and Robert Roberson
TCADP 2025 Annual Conference: Check out our keynote speaker, panelists, and award recipients; become a conference sponsor
Recommended new media: “I Am Ready, Warden” and “Watching the Dallas Cowboys on Death Row: Our Visit to a Supermax Prison”
89th Texas Legislature: Thank the sponsors of three death penalty abolition bills
Upcoming events: Texas Tribune event with State Reps. Joe Moody and Jeff Leach on December 6; TCADP Book Group on December 11
Giving Tuesday: Support TCADP with a year-end donation
Quote of the month
“Younger generations of U.S. adults are far less likely than older generations to favor the death penalty for convicted murderers. As a result, overall support for the death penalty in the U.S. has fallen to 53% today, a level not seen since the early 1970s.” – Gallup, November 14, 2024
Scheduled executions
Thank you for raising your voice in opposition to executions in Texas this year. While we are grateful three scheduled executions were stopped by the courts, we lament the five people who were put to death by Texas in 2024.
There have been 22 executions nationwide in these states: Alabama (six); Florida (one); Georgia (one); Missouri (three); Oklahoma (three); South Carolina (two); Texas (five); and Utah (one). There are executions scheduled this month in Missouri and Oklahoma, as well as in Indiana. If Joseph Corcoran is put to death, he would be the first person executed in Indiana since 2009.
At this time, there are four executions scheduled in Texas in 2025: two in February; one in March; and one in April.
Prevent executions by the federal government
We have until January 20, 2025, to persuade President Joe Biden to commute the sentences of those on federal death row. The federal death penalty, like its state-level counterparts, is steeped in racial and geographic bias. Currently, 55% of the 40 people on federal death row are people of color, including 15 Black men, reflecting the racial injustices that have historically plagued our nation.
President-elect Donald Trump plans to resume federal executions swiftly in his second term. President Biden must prevent this injustice by commuting all federal death sentences before he leaves office in January.
Sign the petition to #CommuteTheRow.
Judge assigned to the case of Robert Roberson recuses herself
Robert Roberson has spent more than 20 years on death row in Texas for a crime that never occurred. His conviction was based on the outdated and now debunked Shaken Baby Syndrome hypothesis. No court has considered overwhelming new medical and scientific evidence that his chronically ill daughter, Nikki, died because of serious health issues, including undiagnosed pneumonia.
Roberson was scheduled for execution on October 17, 2024, but he is alive today because a bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers held hearings to examine why the courts had failed to grant relief under the “junk science” law that was created to help innocent people like Roberson. The lawmakers subpoenaed Roberson to testify at the hearing, which led to a temporary stay of execution. On November 15, 2024, however, the Supreme Court of Texas ruled “the [House] committee’s authority to compel testimony does not include the power to override the scheduled legal process leading to an execution” and it lifted the stay.
In the latest turn in the case, Deborah Oakes Evans, the retired state district judge who issued the execution warrant for Roberson this year, has voluntarily recused herself from further legal proceedings. A new judge will need to be assigned, but it is not clear when that will happen. Roberson does not have a new execution date at this time.
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals grants new trial to Randy Halprin
On November 6, 2024, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) granted a new trial to Randy Halprin, who came within a week of being executed in 2019. The court found that Judge Vickers Cunningham, who presided over Halprin’s 2003 trial in Dallas for the death of Irving police officer Aubrey Hawkins, “was actually biased against him at the time of trial because Halprin is Jewish.” The case is expected to return to North Texas.
Trial Court Recommends Melissa Lucio’s Conviction and Death Sentence Be Overturned Based on “Actual Innocence”
The judge who presided over the trial of Melissa Lucio has found that she “is actually innocent; she did not kill her daughter.” Earlier in the year, Judge Arturo Nelson found that the former district attorney of Cameron County illegally withheld favorable evidence from her defense team at trial that supported Lucio’s defense her daughter died after an accidental fall.
The case is now before the Texas CCA, which will decide whether to accept Judge Nelson’s recommendation to overturn Lucio’s conviction and death sentence. Lucio came within two days of being executed by the State of Texas on April 27, 2022, before the CCA granted a stay and ordered the trial court to consider multiple claims related to new evidence of her innocence of the accidental death of her daughter, Mariah.
TCADP is thrilled to announce that State Representative Joe Moody will serve as the keynote speaker for the TCADP 2025 Annual Conference: Becoming Catalysts for Change! This event will take place from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM on Saturday, February 22, 2025, in Austin, Texas at the Thompson Conference Center. It’s a wonderful opportunity to gain new advocacy skills and meet TCADP members from across the state.
Rep. Moody represents House District 78, a mixed urban and rural district covering much of northern El Paso County. He currently serves as the Chair of the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence and Co-Chair of the House Criminal Justice Reform Caucus. Rep. Moody has played a key role in efforts to stop the execution of Robert Roberson and other people in Texas and is the sponsor of legislation to repeal the death penalty.
In addition to Rep. Moody’s keynote address, the conference will feature a panel discussion with three journalists who cover death penalty issues, as well as an awards luncheon honoring Gretchen Sween, the lead attorney for Robert Roberson, and Rev. Brian Wharton, the former detective who is now advocating for Roberson’s innocence. We will present Appreciation Awards to the Friends Meeting of Austin and TCADP member Shirl Solomon.
Learn more about our speakers and award recipients. Register for the conference here. Sponsorship opportunities are also available.
Recommended new media
“I Am Ready, Warden”
An extraordinary new short documentary, “I Am Ready, Warden,” is now available on Paramount +. The film focuses on the final days of John Henry Ramirez, who was executed by the State of Texas in October 2022. It is beautifully done, thought-provoking, and utterly devastating in its portrayal of the trauma the death penalty inflicts on everyone caught in its wake. We encourage you to watch the film at your earliest convenience. There is a free trial available through Paramount + if you don’t already subscribe to that service.
“Watching the Dallas Cowboys on Death Row: Our Visit to a Supermax Prison”
The latest episode of the podcast, Pablo Torre Finds Out, takes an interesting look at the death penalty through the world of sports, and, specifically, the fact that so many people on death row have used their last words to pay tribute to their favorite sports teams. Correspondent Dave Fleming visited Charles Don Flores on death row at the Polunsky Unit in Texas to find out why. Flores, a Dallas Cowboys fan who has spent more than 25 years on death row for a crime he maintains he did not commit, agreed to talk about “his hidden world of game-day enchiladas, trash talk, and fantasy football.” Listen/watch here.
The 89th Texas Legislature will commence on January 14, 2025, and run through early June. Legislators already have filed hundreds of bills, including two death penalty abolition bills in the House and one in the Senate: House Bills 454 by State Representative John Bucy and 651 by State Representative Joe Moody; and Senate Bill 343 by State Senator Sarah Eckhardt. (The bills are identical.)
Send an email thanking these lawmakers for their leadership by clicking on their names above.
“Is Justice Served? Legislative intervention and the death penalty”
On Friday, December 6, 2024, at 9:00 AM CT, the Texas Tribune will host “Is Justice Served? Legislative intervention and the death penalty”, a conversation with State Representatives Joe Moody and Jeff Leach about their efforts to stop Robert Roberson’s execution and their concerns about the science behind the shaken baby syndrome diagnosis that prompted a jury to sentence him to death. Attend the event in person in Austin or watch online. More details and registration.
TCADP Book Group
The TCADP Book Group meets every six to eight weeks on Zoom and reads a mix of fiction, non-fiction, and memoirs. Our next selection is How to Read a Book by Monica Wood. We will discuss the novel on Wednesday, December 11, 2024, at 7:00 PM CT. Register here to receive the Zoom link.
Giving Tuesday
December 3, 2024, is Giving Tuesday, a day when we remember the generosity at the heart of the holiday season. Your gift to TCADP will refuel our resolve to stop executions, advocate for change at the state legislature, and hold prosecutors accountable for their death penalty practices. Make a secure, tax-deductible gift today. Thank you!